P#4 Q7a: Is There Anything I Can Do To Improve My Chances Of Being Successful At Selling Stock Photos?

Two exercises you can do to help you start selling stock photos

Scott Stulberg mentioned earlier in the interview that you must get model releases signed by your subjects if you intend to use them in selling stock photos. I understand the need for that. Yet, approaching strangers may seem daunting to many listeners. How do I get over that? Are there any tools you can use?

Scott Stulberg suggests some exercises you can do and provides some great tips to help you be more successful.

Charm and a business card will go far for you when selling stock photos

Scott Stulberg: One exercise would be to go up to somebody they don’t know who would be very interesting to photograph and be a great model. and say, “I would love to photograph you. Do you think I could photograph you sometime?”

Getting out of your shell is vital. It’s probably the number one thing that people say, “I can’t go up to people and photograph them.”

Then if you are not good at being able to photograph people and meeting new people and getting their okay, then you’re probably not going to do well at stock.

You have overcome that fear.

I’m very gregarious so I have no problem going up to anybody and saying, “I’d love to photograph you. Here, can I give you my card and you can look up my work and see?”

I also tell them, “I’m a teacher,” so that helps, makes me look more legitimate.

I have five business cards. They all have different pictures so I just give out whichever one feels right to give to that particular person. I tell them to go look at my website.

The business card and the website are probably the number one and two things you can do to make yourself look more legitimate, because if they have no idea what you photograph, they have no idea how good you are.

You could be just some clown or some student that just started shooting two weeks before and needs guinea pigs. People don’t want to be guinea pigs. They want to be shot by good shooters so you have to be halfway decent.

If you want to use guinea pigs, use your family and use your friends but don’t use people that you don’t know.

Get out of your shell, go up to people, and ask them if you can shoot them.

The second exercise would be to go online, go to these agencies, type in the keywords, and start looking at the images. See what looks good and if you think you can compete with these photographers.

To summarize

Scott’s advice: practice asking people if you can photograph them, behave professionally when approaching people you want to use as subjects, give them your business card that includes you website address, and do your homework. These exercises will help you be more successful selling stock photos.